Simone's Wood Fired Craft Kitchen — Restaurant in Florida

Disappointed After Year of Good Experiences

I’ve been a loyal customer of Simone’s for year, frequently bringing my grandchildren to enjoy their delicious gluten-free pizza, Calamari Fritti, and meatballs. My older grandkids especially love the Pollo E Campanelli Alla Pesto. Up until now, the food and service have always been excellent the wait staff attentive and the experience enjoyable.

Unfortunately, our most recent visit was incredibly disappointing and will be our last. This time, the service was far below the standard we’ve come to expect. Our waiter seemed overwhelmed, juggling too many tables, and never once came to check on us while we were seated outside.

The issue began when my 4-year-old granddaughter started screaming in distress that her mouth was burning after eating a meatball. I tasted it myself — the sauce was fine, but the meatball was extremely spicy due to an overwhelming amount of pepper. We’ve ordered this dish many times and never had this issue. My 9-year-old also couldn’t eat it.

I politely asked the waiter not to charge us for the meatballs, as the kids couldn’t eat them, but we were then left waiting another 20 minutes for the check with no return visit from the server and no water or ice offered for the child who was clearly in distress.

When I finally went inside with the kids to pay, the manager told me she had tasted the meatballs herself and claimed they were “not spicy.” She insisted that this is how they are always made, completely dismissing my concerns—even though we’ve ordered them many times before without any issue. She also informed me that I would be charged for the handful of chips that were on the plate with the meatballs, because the kids had eaten them while we Waited for 20 minutes about 10 chips in a small white bowel . I explained that we had been waiting an unreasonable amount of time and that I was not going to pay for the chips. After some back and forth, she finally relented and removed the charge.

It’s disheartening to have such a long-standing positive relationship with a restaurant end this way. I rarely write negative reviews, but the way this situation was handled lacked both empathy and accountability. Sadly, we won’t...

This place has great from scratch food and quality attentive service, but just want to warn any local moms it is NOT kid friendly. I had been there for date night prior to bringing my children, and obviously noticed the more mature, sophisticated patrons but sometimes mama needs a night off from cooking and a nice glass of wine, and the local watering hole next door just doesn’t cut it. My mom offered to treat me and my 5 and 2 year while my husband was out of town, and they were not by any means disruptive or unruly, but they started to lose their patience when their dinner was completely forgotten about, and the judgy looks started rolling in. I also thought it was disrespectful when they proceeded to charge me full price for their forgotten, half served meal. Being long time customers of The Press and knowing the owners are lovely parents, and very present in their restaurant businesses, I expected a little more understanding. I ordered the kids food when I put in the appetizers so it would come quickly (not my first rodeo) and after feeding them an entire bread basket and receiving the adult entrées ordered later, there was still no kids spaghetti and meatballs. I told the server, who was great, and she asked if I still wanted it since the kids were now sharing our dinner and filling up on bread. I said maybe if she could quickly bring a small bowl of noodles for them, but didn’t need the meatballs or full meal we originally ordered. 5 mins later she brings a plate of spaghetti and red sauce for them as we are asking for boxes to leave with our own dinners. The kids had fun eating the noodles as kids do and the uptight crowd sent more critical eyeballs our way even though I kept them under control and cleaned up after what little mess they made. And still tipped 30% even though the bill still charged me full price for forgotten kids spaghetti and the meatballs which we never got. I didn’t even have it in me to complain anymore because I could tell it would go nowhere and just wanted to leave. Overall, I will definitely not be back with my kids but after the bad taste this unwelcoming experience left with me, idk if I’d even consider going back for another date night...

We have gone to Simone's many times... but that did not matter when we went in tonite. We asked for a non-burned pizza crust. When we complained, the owner said she did not need our business and told us never to come back. Here is my advise to her taken from recommendations on how to handle customer complaints... a web article.Customer Complaint Procedure Unhappy customers can range from slightly irritated to extremely angry. It's difficult for many people to face an irate guest and stay professional in the heat of the moment. That's why it helps to create a step-by-step response that anyone on your staff can follow. This is our five-step complaint handling procedure:

Stay Calm - When dealing with a complaint, keep your voice level and calm. Don't let your tone rise, or you may appear defensive or confrontational. Take a deep breath, make eye contact with the customer, and keep an open mind. Listen - Listen carefully to the guest. In order to fix the problem, you must understand what happened. It could be multiple mishaps during service, and it could be one big mistake. Either way, give the customer your full attention. Sympathize - This step can be tricky, especially if you're in the middle of a busy rush and a complaint catches you by surprise. Put yourself in the guest's shoes and sympathise with their situation, even if the issue seems minor. Use sympathetic facial expressions and body language. Don't impatiently tap your foot or look over your shoulder. Apologize - This step seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how important it can be. Don't pass the blame or make excuses, even if the customer's complaint isn't directly your fault. Always accept responsibility on behalf of the restaurant and apologize sincerely for the oversight. Resolve - Every complaint will require a different resolution. This is where superior customer service skills and emotional intelligence come into play. The perfect solution could just be an apology, or it could require comping (paying) the bill for the...